Improvements has let me down before... My review of their Aerator Sandals
was my first to score a zero. However, their battery tester has a unique, attractive design that I gave a
try. After a series of tests I can say for sure that this battery tester was definitely more satisfactory
than the Aerator Sandals. However, in the grand scale, how did it perform compared to other battery
testers?

The important thing to realize about this tester is that it tests batteries differently from other
testers. Most testers check the voltage of the battery either under a short circuit or a very small
resistance. This allows a consistent measurement of the battery's voltage, but not its power. The
Improvements tester, on the other hand, tests the batteries under a heavy load, not unlike the kind
of load a digital camera or other hi-tech device uses. There is a switch between a barrel and a button
cell type of battery to choose an appropriate load. To test the load testing abilities of this tester, I
simply found two new 9V batteries, a Duracell and a cheap Rayovac. It was a bit confusing at first
deciding whether to set the switch to barrel or button cell mode, but remembering that 9V batteries
contain six tiny barrel batteries that is how I set the switch. Sure enough, the Improvements tester
reported that the Duracell was good, but the Rayovac was low under a load. A different battery tester
reported both batteries as having the same voltage (9V) but did not report the difference in battery
power. For this reason the Improvements tester really sets itself apart because it can be used to
separate the batteries for hi-tech devices from the batteries that are only suitable for low-power
devices like clocks and radios.

It isn't just the unique load-bearing test that makes this tester handy. It is also very compact,
weighing only 3 ounces and only 5.5" long, and can be held and used in one hand. The jaw-tips mean there
is no need to balance the battery and connect leads to it, you only have to lock the magnetic tip to
one terminal of the battery and clamp the jaw onto the other. This process is slightly more difficult
with 9V batteries, fuses, and especially light bulbs, but overall it is still much easier than using
test leads. When testing light bulbs the magnetic tip isn't useful, but when testing batteries it has a
very strong hold. I disagree with the designer's choice of color on the terminals; the silver-color terminal
should be negative and the brass-color terminal should be positive, because that would more closely match
the conventional black and red colors. However, they are still clearly marked. As a nice addition there
is a simplified list of instructions right on the back of the tester. I would have liked a more precise
readout of the battery's power than just good/low/bad, but this design is simple and effective.

The only area where this tester was limited was its compatibility. While it worked great with the most
common types (AA, AAA, C, D, 9V, CMOS batteries) it did not work with a few oddballs like photo batteries,
12V batteries, and garage door opener batteries. I also wasn't able to get it to positively test any
miniature Christmas light, even though it's supposed to be able to test those. If you want to test
Christmas lights I don't recommend using a tester like this, because there are special testers for just
that purpose. Its light and fuse tester is just a continuity test, but it consistently worked well with
all the fuses and bulbs I tested with it except those Christmas lights.

Overall, this tester is a good deal for its price, and a nice gift idea; it is perhaps the best battery
tester design to date. There are a few batteries that this tester does not test correctly, so there is
still much room for improvement, but it works great for the most common types of batteries. Improvements
has, for the moment, redeemed themselves.